Billikens open NCAA tournament with OT thriller

~ Saint Louis trailed by 16 points in the second half before rallying to defeat N.C. State

ORLANDO, Fla. -- At least one No. 5 stayed alive.

Saint Louis, seeded fifth in the Midwest Region, worked five extra minutes Thursday night to avoid joining fellow No. 5's Cincinnati and Oklahoma in falling to 12th seeds in the NCAA tournament. The Billikens advanced by wiping out a late double-digit deficit and beating North Carolina State 83-80 in overtime.

Rob Loe led the way with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Atlantic-10 Conference player of the year Jordair Jett overcame a slow start to score 18, doing most of his damage while Saint Louis (27-6) was escaping a 59-45 hole over the last five minutes of regulation.

"We didn't want to end on that kind of note. We didn't want to bow out of the tournament this early," Loe said. "We're here to win, and we're here to put our mark on basketball."

No. 12 seed NC State (22-14) beat Xavier in an opening round game in Dayton, Ohio, and fatigue could have been a factor in the Wolfpack collapsing late and missing 17 attempts from the foul line.

"It's heartbreaking. ... Obviously we're going to always feel like we let one slip away," NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. " It's hard to explain. We're a good foul-shooting team."

T.J. Warren scored 28 points for NC State, but the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year made just six of his 14 free throw attempts. He missed one that could have tied it in the final minute of OT.

Warren fouled out with 27.9 seconds remaining, leaving Ralston Turner to try to rescue the Wolfpack with a desperation 3-point attempt that clanked off the rim as time expired.

Saint Louis, which starts five seniors, moves on to play either fourth-seeded Louisville or No. 13 Manhattan on Saturday. The Billikens did it despite trailing by as many as 16 and going 12 of 26 from the foul line.

Turner, who finished with 16, hit a jumper and three free throws during a 19-7 spurt that helped the Wolfpack open their biggest lead.

Saint Louis whittled away at its deficit, tying the game at 70-70 on Jett's driving layup with 18.8 seconds remaining.

It went to overtime when point guard Tyler Lewis missed an open 17-foot jumper at the buzzer.